


betray

by envysparkler



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Enemy to Caretaker, F/M, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, suicide pill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24056005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/envysparkler/pseuds/envysparkler
Summary: She’s always had horrible taste in guys, but the spy of a rival organization that planned to destroy them was a new low.
Relationships: Sai/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	betray

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted from FFN.

“I’m going to murder him,” Ino said, as calmly as she could manage. She carefully cleaned the scope of her gun, imagining seeing dark hair, pale skin and a bland smile in the crosshairs. Perhaps a sniper rifle wasn’t the best weapon with which to resist a hostile takeover but Ino was fond of her weapon.

Besides, it wasn’t like Sakura had any room to talk with her tendency to go hand-to-hand with people who had guns.

“Sure you are,” Sakura muttered quietly, peering through a crack in the closet door. The dark space was cramped and stank of chemical cleaners but it was large enough to fit the two of them and obvious enough to be overlooked.

“I _am_ ,” Ino snarled, irritated at her friend’s patronizing tone, “Don’t tell me I’m not, Forehead Girl. Who’s the person who decided to poison Sasuke a few weeks ago?”

“Never went through with it,” Sakura pointed out.

“Yeah, because he almost electrocuted you,” Ino rolled her eyes, “Not for lack of trying.”

“Not for lack of trying indeed,” Sakura said softly and Ino eyed her. That tone was worrying, but she was going to have to tackle it later, after they destroyed every last member of Root and after she put a bullet in Sai.

“You would’ve killed him,” she said dismissively, “Just like I’m going to murder Sai.” She remembered the utterly blank expression on his face after the alarms started blaring, the blank expression that remained when he pointed a gun at her heart and coolly informed her that he was working for Root. Had been working for Root the whole time and had led them here to raze Leaf to the ground.

Ino had escaped, but Sai had still shattered her heart.

“That traitorous _bastard_ ,” Ino hissed and Sakura hushed her. 

“Someone’s coming,” Sakura whispered and Ino tightened her hand on her gun as she heard the sound of footsteps. Sakura moved to the side and Ino tucked her rifle into the small gap, her eyes peering through the scope.

Ino preferred to be at least a hundred feet away from the fighting, watching through her crosshairs while Shikamaru and Chouji manipulated her targets into position. But that didn’t mean she was useless at short range, something Sai had learnt to his detriment. The shot had only grazed him, she knew, but it had stalled him long enough for her to escape. The next one, she vowed, would find its mark.

A woman came into view as she walked down the corridor, passing the closet. Ino took a fraction of a second to catalogue her – rifle at her side, handgun in her arms, Root insignia. Ino pressed the trigger.

The shot sounded off like a thunderclap as the woman collapsed. Sakura groaned, and pushed open the closet door. “This is why I prefer hand to hand,” Sakura groused, scanning the corridor before going for the downed woman and checking for a pulse, “Much less noise. She’s dead.”

“You prefer hand-to-hand because you’re a sadistic bitch who likes taking baths in the blood of her enemies,” Ino laughed, “We need to change position.”

“Agreed,” Sakura said, and made no move to deny Ino’s allegation, “There’s no way this woman’s fitting in the closet with us.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Ino asked, her voice one octave shy of a screech.

“You said it, Ino-pig, not me,” Sakura grinned and sidestepped the swipe of Ino’s sniper rifle. Sakura picked the gun and the rifle off the dead woman and tucked both away. Her fists gleamed under the harsh lighting and Ino could see the plates of metal sewn into her black gloves. Sakura spent so much time in the infirmary, it was easy to forget that she was a wrecking ball when she wanted to be.

“So how _is_ Sasuke?” Ino said conversationally as Sakura took out a pair of knives. Short, but sharp, she’d seen Sakura sever spines with them before. Ino reluctantly slung her rifle onto her back before pulling out two handguns. Short-range it was.

“How should I know?” Sakura snorted rudely, turning the corner in step with Ino. There were two Root agents down the corridor and Sakura smoothly ducked while Ino shot. Both hit the ground, dead. “I’m not his keeper.” Ah, so there _was_ a problem. Ino was the greatest best friend ever.

“I thought Naruto was keeping you informed of his progress,” Ino ventured. She was careful to keep her voice low, but there was really no point. The lights flickered on and off and the alarms still blared. Gunshots rang off at irregular intervals. No one could hear a conversation above this cacophony.

“Naruto is keeping _Tsunade_ informed of his progress,” Sakura corrected her, “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know either of them.”

“To be far, you were the one who told Naruto to bring him back,” Ino pointed out. 

“Bring him back, not go gallivanting across the world with him,” Sakura seethed. And it looked like they hit upon the heart of the matter. Ino stayed silent, even as she checked the doors and made sure no one was hiding inside any of the rooms. “It’s not,” Sakura said, before sighing, “It’s not like I don’t understand. I do. Sasuke’s his best friend…” She trailed off as they turned a corner and almost ran into another Root agent.

Sakura made short work of this one – one punch to his nose broke it, another to his solar plexus drove the air from his lungs and a quick slash across the neck finished the job. Sakura made no move to wipe off the blood that coated her arms.

“But?” Ino asked leadingly once they checked that the corridor was secure.

“But they’ve left me behind,” Sakura growled, “ _Again_. So _what_ if they’re co-dependent, we used to be a team!”

“You think that they think you’re just dead weight,” Ino said, getting to the heart of the matter. Sakura didn’t verbally confirm it, but her shoulders sagged an inch and Ino knew she was right. “I understand.”

Sakura shot her a nasty look at that, “How the hell do you understand?”

“Because I’ve dealt with the same,” Ino snorted, “Just a pretty little sharpshooter, so weak, so defenseless. Not Shikamaru or Chouji, they know better, but other teams.” It had been part of what had drawn her to Sai – he had taken her seriously. He never thought she wasn’t good enough to keep up. Ino remembered the small smiles he gave her, the intense look in his eyes when he drew, and the way he said _‘beautiful’_ , like he didn’t know what the word meant until he saw her. 

She thought that this time, she’d finally got lucky. That she landed a guy who actually appreciated her, who drew her pretty things and yet sparred with her every day. She never imagined that he was Root.

Ino shook the thoughts out of her head and turned to Sakura. Sakura, who looked like she was contemplating bodily harm, her fists clenched and green eyes flashing. “Who said you’re just a pretty sharpshooter?” Sakura snarled. A Leaf agent had once made the mistake of telling Sakura that she was Tsunade’s eye candy. That person had spent a month in the infirmary and the entire compound had quickly learned that there was a _reason_ that Sakura was Tsunade’s apprentice and it had nothing to do with her looks.

Besides, the only eye candy Tsunade would ever need would be a mirror.

“I’ve dealt with it on my own, Forehead Girl,” Ino said, amused, “God, you’re worse than Shikamaru.” She took a breath to pause and aim her gun at the Root agent crossing the corridor ahead. She pressed the trigger and the guy’s brain splattered against the wall. “Point is, Sakura, you’re stronger than both of them and you know it.”

“I do,” Sakura conceded, “And I’m smarter.”

“There you go,” Ino grinned, “And I bet they’re really regretting their decision to leave you behind now.” She swept a hand to encompass the carnage that surrounded them – dead bodies of both Leaf and Root piling up in the corridors, alarms blaring, lights flickering and dark shapes flitting out of sight. She and Sakura had carved a swathe of destruction of their very own and had left at least ten bodies behind them after they left the closet. 

It had been at least an hour from the start of the invasion. Sakura had found Ino in the closet but their radios were being scrambled. Ino recognized a few of the bodies on the ground but did not take a closer look and Sakura merely checked if they were dead before moving on. They hadn’t caught sight of an alive Leaf agent. 

The invasion had been well planned. It had started at two in the morning and would’ve been virtually silent if the alarms hadn’t gone off. They had tried to gas them all but Ino had inadvertently put paid to that when she confronted Sai near the ventilation systems. There had to have been more spies, because someone let the main force of Root through the front doors and someone had bombed Tsunade’s office. Sakura had been on her way back from the infirmary at the time and had put three Root agents down before she found Ino.

“Naruto’s probably gone ballistic,” Sakura smiled, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was making his way here right now.”

“If he even knows,” Ino pointed out, “Communications is dead.” Sakura subsided into silence at that. Ino knew what she was thinking – it would’ve been much easier if Naruto, and by extension Sasuke, was here. Much easier if Shikamaru, Chouji, and all the rest of the Rookie Nine had not been out on missions. Root had planned this very well indeed and Ino’s only consolation was that she didn’t need check the dead bodies of her coworkers to see if they were her friends.

There was an explosion of noise in front of them and Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance before peering around the edge of the hall. Root agents milled down the corridor, exchanging reports while standing guard in front of an office. They’d clearly found Root’s HQ.

And Ino had found the very person she’d been looking for.

“No, Ino!” Sakura whispered harshly, gripping her wrist tightly and forcing Ino to move her finger away from the trigger, “Shoot him, and every agent in this hall will know we’re here. I don’t know if we can take out thirty of these bastards and I don’t want to push my luck.” Ino let Sakura drag her hand down, but she kept her glare fixed on Sai.

“I want to kill him,” Ino said, her hand clenched tight on her gun. She had a bullet with his name on it and she wanted to put it in his heart. Eye for an eye, and all.

  
“You will kill him,” Sakura said soothingly, “But can you see that now might not be the best time?”

Ino frowned at the corridor full of people and let her hand drop. “Fine,” Ino muttered, turning back down the corridor, “But I _am_ going to kill him.”

* * *

Sai stood fixed where he was, staring blankly at the wall. He’d talked to Danzo and the Commander had congratulated him on his success. Sai had failed to get the gas in the air but the Commander had accounted for that and another agent had been tasked with blowing up Tsunade’s office if the gas failed.

Sai had liked Tsunade. She was blunt and honest, which was a frightening combination at first, but he’d gotten used to it. She was a good leader.

Not like Danzo.

Sai flicked a glance at the room behind him, trying to calm his beating heart. Treason against the Commander was punishable by a slow, torturous death but even Danzo couldn’t read minds. Slightly reassured by the sight of the closed door, Sai returned to his musings.

Tsunade had not been the only blonde he liked, though Ino was in a category of her own. Sai never had words to describe the flirty sniper and even his drawings could not do her justice. It couldn’t capture her dry wit or her mischievous personality. It definitely couldn’t recreate the depth of betrayal in her eyes when Sai had leveled the gun at her heart. 

He was glad that she’d shot him before she saw his fingers trembling. At least he had an excuse for Danzo when he reported his failure. He’d panicked at the time because Ino was _not_ supposed to be there. Sai could never have shot her or any of the new friends he’d begun to make. He’d deliberately chosen a night when most of the agents were out on missions. At the time, he’d justified it by saying that it would be easier to take down Leaf when it was empty. 

Danzo should’ve picked his spies more carefully. Sai had been a good, emotionless shoulder but it was a blank slate that was easiest to draw upon. Leaf had turned him into something different and while Sai was still figuring himself out, he was certain that this new person was not allied to Danzo.

There was an abrupt silence as all the alarms shut down. The lights flickered one last time before they snapped back on, bathing the corridor in unwavering bright fluorescent light. The muttering increased in the sudden silence and in a few seconds, the door swung open. 

“I gave clear orders not to switch off the alarms,” Danzo growled, “I wanted those damn Leaf agents to think that we have not secured the building. Which one of you disobeyed my orders?”

Sai spoke up without a thought, “No one, Commander. It was not Root.” Of course, the fact that it wasn’t Root meant that it was Leaf and Sai’s mouth went dry as he realized he betrayed the Leaf yet again.

“You,” Danzo pointed one gnarled finger at Sai, “Go to the technical department and find out who shut it down. Bring me their heads.”

Sai bowed low, both a recognition to obey and a disguise for the horrified shock on his face. He’d avoided killing Leaf agents this far, but he would not get leeway here. “I live to serve, Commander,” Sai muttered, before stalking down the corridor.

There was no reason to be suspicious. Sai knew the compound and knew where the technical department was and thus was the person most suited for the job. Danzo prided himself on efficiency. But there was the niggling worry that Danzo had somehow heard his traitorous thoughts and sought to punish him and Sai swallowed grimly, feeling the protrusion of the poison capsule sharp against his teeth.

Sai was well aware that the capsule could be remotely detonated.

He made his way swiftly to the technical department and was unsurprised to be met with utter darkness. Clearly the Leaf had figured out that Danzo had secured the building and was prepared to make him pay for every inch. 

Sai knew where the door was, however, and how to open it without making a sound. He also knew where the light switch was and he flipped it on, screwing his eyes against the sudden brilliance. He opened his eyes almost immediately and blinked past the colored dots obscuring his visions. The Leaf agents would be more disoriented than he was and this was his opportunity to strike –

Sai caught sight of brilliant blonde hair and forgot how to breathe.

Unfortunately, his hesitation had cost him his opening. Ino blinked open her eyes, her hand already on her gun, ready to fire. When she caught sight of him, her face twisted into a mask of indescribable rage and she pulled the trigger. Sai threw himself to the side to avoid the shot, but lost his gun when he hit the floor. 

It skidded along the ground to stop at a pair of tennis shoes. Sai followed it up until he was staring into Sakura’s face. She looked quite calm, which didn’t bode well for him. He’d seen the same expression on her face when she was coating poison on a knife meant for Sasuke. The click of a gun had him turning his attention to the other occupant of the room, wary of what he might find.

Ino was glaring at him, her bright blue eyes iced over and her finger on the trigger of the gun that was pointing to his heart. Sai had never seen such a cold look on her face.

“Traitor,” she hissed, and yes, Sai could concede that. He had betrayed her horribly, and he didn’t think anything in any of his books could make it up to her. “Give me _one reason_ I shouldn’t blow your brains out right this minute,” Ino snarled.

Sai blinked. The gun was pointing at his heart and he was opening his mouth to tell her about it when he remembered Hinata’s lesson on tact. So he ignored the logistical problem and answered her question honestly, “I don’t have one.”

He _could_ probably think of one, because Danzo had taught him at least a little about manipulation before handing him the relevant books, but right now, with the gun aimed at his heart, Sai’s mind was blank.

Ino faltered, the gun dipping lower – Sai gulped – as her glare disappeared. He could the hurt in her eyes as she looked at him. Her hand didn’t tremble, she was far too trained for that, but he could see her inner turmoil in every line of tension in her body. “ _Why_?” she breathed out, and it was the one word that was his undoing.

Why did he lead Root inside? Why did he try to gas them all? Why couldn’t he kill her?

He flicked a glance at Sakura to see her calmly staring at him, hands ready at her sides. If Ino didn’t finish him, Sakura would. And even if neither of them touched him, going back to Danzo without their heads was not an option. Sai was definitely going to die tonight.

With that thought in mind, he looked straight into Ino’s eyes, “Because I swore to obey Danzo.” Ino gave a little sob at that and crumpled to her knees, the gun slipping out of her limp fingers. Sakura didn’t move to comfort her, but neither did she advance on Sai so he took it as permission to sit up. 

Ino wasn’t crying, but her head was in her hands and she wasn’t looking up. Sakura was standing in the same guarded stance, her eyes not moving off of Sai. He thought about removing his gun to show that he wasn’t going to hurt them, but didn’t want to take a chance with Sakura’s hair-trigger reflexes.

“I’m sorry,” he offered, not quite sure who he was speaking to. Sakura made no move to reply, but Ino lifted her face back up. 

“You’re sorry?” she breathed out, incredulous, “You’re _sorry_? Oh, that makes everything so much better. Thank you, Sai,” Ino said, and it didn’t take Kiba’s elbow to the ribs to realize that it was sarcasm, “For apologizing. I can almost forget that you betrayed all your friends.” She got up and stalked towards him, her face a mask of anger. “It doesn’t matter that I’ve seen thirty dead Leaf agents –”

“Thirty-four,” Sakura corrected, the first time she’d spoken up in Sai’s presence.

“Because you’re _sorry_!” Ino raged, towering above Sai. The difference in heights was making him uneasy and he moved to get up. Ino, it seemed, had other plans.

She tripped his legs out from under him to send Sai sprawling to the floor and she landed on him heavily, crushing the breath from his lungs. Sai’s hands hung uselessly at his sides as she straddled him, her hands around his throat. He looked up at her and something inside his chest ached at the expression on her face. She was angry and heartbroken and so _sad_ and all Sai wanted to do was make it go away.

“Ino-chan,” Sai started, but it was clearly the wrong thing to say. Ino’s hands constricted around his throat and Sai gasped for air. He wanted to rip her hands from his throat but he couldn’t do that. He wanted to get rid of the sorrow in her eyes but _he_ was the one who put it there and he’d promised, long ago, to hurt those who hurt Ino.

“You don’t get to call me that!” Ino screamed, before letting him go. Sai took in a huge gulp of air and choked on it when Ino punched him in the face. She punched him again and again and again and Sai took it, limp on the floor. His lack of a response was clearly infuriating Ino because she cast around for another weapon to use. The only thing close enough was the gun she’d dropped and she picked it up, a maniacal gleam in her eyes.

Sai braced himself for the shot. This wasn’t such a bad way to die. Ino was straddling him, and even if her intentions tended more to strangulation than sex, he could at least go to hell with the memory of her bright blue eyes.

But Ino didn’t shoot him. She hit him with the gun, hard enough to make him bleed. Sai looked up at her, confused and disoriented by the sudden change and when she hit him again, cracking him across the jaw and sending his head crashing against the floor, Sai instinctively bit down hard against the pain.

Bit down on the metal capped capsule in the back of his mouth.

Ino moved to hit him again but his mouth was already filling with the bitter, acidic taste of poison and Sai panicked. Twisting Ino off of him, Sai turned to the side and spat out as much of the poison as he could, panic increasing as he accidentally swallowed whatever was left in his mouth. He stayed on his hands and knees as he panted, his heart racing at the sight of the small dark puddle beneath him. The detonator lay in the midst of the poison, blinking up at him.

Gradually, his panic receded and awareness came back to him. Sai stared at the poison that should’ve killed him, even when Sakura crouched in front of him. “Sai?” she asked quietly, “What is this?”

He was aware that Ino had come to stand next to Sakura but he didn’t want to look up. He didn’t want to see either of their faces. “Poison capsule,” he said hoarsely. Ino made a soft sound but Sai still didn’t look up.

“What is that blinking thing?” Sakura asked calmly. Too calmly, a distant part of Sai’s mind noted.

“Detonator,” Sai whispered hollowly. It didn’t really matter, telling them, when he was going to die anyway. Ino was cursing now, but he stopped listening to her. He could keep listening to Sakura, though, her voice was soothing and composed.

The self-aware part of Sai’s mind noted that he was in shock.

“Why was there a detonator in your poison capsule?” Sakura asked, keeping her tone light. Ino fell silent, as if waiting for his answer.

It was a simple answer to give. “Insurance,” Sai said dully. Danzo did not trust, after all. He made sure his loyal soldiers were loyal, by binding their lives to him. Hemlock was a fast-acting poison, but it paralyzed the body long before it killed. Fast enough to shut down their movements, but still a slow death.

“Insurance?” Ino practically yelled, dropping to her knees and forcing Sai to look at her. She held his chin firmly, uncaring of the gigantic bruise that was beginning to develop across his jaw, “Whose _insurance_?”

He stared at her blankly. He’d already told her, once before. “I swore to obey Danzo,” Sai repeated. Ino’s inarticulate scream of rage was cut off by Sakura, who pushed Ino aside and looked into Sai’s eyes.

“How much did you swallow?” she asked in the cool, professional tones of a medic. The working part of Sai’s mind finally broke through the fog of his shock and panic and he pushed back onto his knees, away from Sakura and the puddle of poison.

“Not enough to kill me,” Sai said, and it was the truth. Danzo was efficient after all, and there was no sense in wasting more poison than needed. The entire contents of the capsule would’ve killed him, but he spat out more than half of it on the floor. _Coward_ , a dark part of his mind whispered, _can’t even die properly._

“How long?” Ino snarled, looking very much like she’d like nothing more than to lunge across the gap and strangle him again, “How long have you had a damn _suicide pill_ in your mouth?”

Sai stared at her, a bit bewildered at her rage. “From when I joined Danzo,” Sai answered. He had been a loyal agent of Root and that meant only one thing.

“I don’t understand,” Ino shook her head, glancing from the poison to Sai, “Why did you follow him?”

Sai begin to feel the stirrings of frustration. Danzo wanted his soldiers to be emotionless, but emotion was human and he _was_ human. “I didn’t have very many options, Ino,” Sai said testily. If Ino and Sakura were worried about his wellbeing, then logically they weren’t going to kill him and Sai felt safe enough to snap back.

“You could’ve come to me,” Ino growled, “Or Sakura. Or Tsunade. We would’ve helped you. You didn’t need to carry through with Danzo’s plan.”

“I wasn’t the only Root spy,” Sai said, “And I had a better chance of working from the inside that out.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ino frowned, “Better chance at what?” Before Sai could reply, the detonator emitted a shrill pulse before exploding in a small puff of smoke.

Sai eyed the smoldering mess in trepidation. “He knows,” Sai said. The only reason Danzo would not wait for his return was if he already realized that Sai was a traitor.

“Knows what?” Sakura asked, frowning.

“That Tsunade isn’t here,” Sai said.

“Didn’t he already know?” Ino raised an eyebrow, “Wasn’t that why he attacked, because almost everyone’s out on missions?”

“No,” Sai shook his head, “Danzo wanted to destroy everyone. That’s why he blew up Tsunade’s office.”

“Kind of stupid of him, then,” Ino said caustically, “Attacking on one of the rare days that Tsunade’s not here.”

Sai swallowed, “I told him when to attack.”

There was a long pause at that, and Sai didn’t look up at either of them. Perhaps he _was_ a coward, but at least he was consistent.

“How would you know when Tsunade was going out?” Sakura asked suspiciously.

“I broke into her office and checked the register,” Sai said. There was really no point in hiding anything now, not if Danzo thought he was a dead traitor. “Two days ago.”

“Ino was planning on going on a mission,” Sakura mused, “But she dropped out yesterday night.”

Sai looked at her, then to Ino, who looked like she’d been run over by a train. “No,” Ino said softly.

“You weren’t supposed to be here,” Sai whispered lowly, “No one was supposed to be here.” 

He couldn’t go against Danzo, but he could make sure that Danzo didn’t hurt anyone he cared about. Not Hinata, who’d done her best to correct Sai on social situations. Not Kiba, who’d appointed himself as Sai’s teacher. Not Tsunade, who watched over them all. Not Shikamaru and Chouji, who were brothers to Ino. Not Sakura, who was gentle in the infirmary and a hellcat outside of it. And especially not Ino, who was the color to his black and white canvas.

“Well, tough luck, Sai, but no plan survives contact with the enemy,” Sakura said, and Sai snapped his head up to look at her. She was smirking at him, though, and Sai felt a chill run down his spine. “Now, I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to answer it honestly.”

“Okay,” Sai said. Honesty was the least he could do, considering that he was supposed to be dead.

“Whose side are you on?”

Sai debated that question for a second. Normally, the answer would be Danzo. Even when he was doing his best to ensure that his friends stayed alive, his loyalty had always been to Danzo. But now, Danzo had killed him, or at least attempted to and Sai really had no reason to be loyal anymore.

The follow-up question was, then, whose side did he _want_ to be on? And that answer was easy.

“Yours,” Sai replied, looking up at Ino. She didn’t look particularly impressed with his answer, but that was okay. He figured that this was the start of his _‘redemption’_ , as all the books talked about and as long as he had a chance of winning her back, he had hope.

* * *

Ino breathed slowly and evenly, trying not to think about the four walls of the ventilation shaft pressing into her. Konohamaru was on the other end with his teammates – the three idiots had been playing in the ventilation ducts and had passed out when Sai had sent the sleeping gas filtering through the air. Another point for the traitor, though Ino couldn’t really call him that now.

She wondered, though, as she stared at Sai, crouched above the loose ceiling tile in front of her, how many things he’d done like that – sleeping gas instead of poison, choosing a day when most of Leaf was on active missions, refusing to shoot her – how many small actions it had taken to turn him away from Danzo.

And she wondered how many of those were because of her.

“Ino-chan, my eyes are up here,” Sai said lightly and Ino flushed in the darkness. She had been staring at Sai’s ass, though god only knew how he realized, the bastard.

“Ino-pig, really, you wound me,” Sakura was deriving far too much enjoyment out of the scenario. This was most definitely payback for all the times Ino brought up Sasuke’s defection. “I understand the urge to ogle, but we’re in the middle of a mission right now.”

“Sakura-san, that sounds creepy,” Sai rejoined politely and Sakura barely restrained herself from cackling. A giggle or too did seep through.

Ino scowled. “Both of you, _shut it_ ,” Ino hissed, “Danzo might hear us.”

“Good,” Sakura grinned, “He needs to believe this building is haunted.”

After picking apart Sai’s knowledge of Danzo and Root, they’d realized that the second spy – the one who blew up Tsunade’s office – was probably also not loyal to Root. He would’ve known that Tsunade wasn’t inside, after all. Sai had discreetly reached out to him and that agent had walked into Danzo’s office and told the Commander of Root that the place was haunted.

The guy was a good actor, and he had to be, to push Danzo into believing that his army of emotionless robots were frightened of a few spooky wails. Thankfully, that heart-stopping conversation was over, and was the perfect foundation for their next step.

“Ready, Sai?” Sakura asked, and didn’t bother waiting for a response, “Lights go off in twenty seconds.” Sai nodded in the murky darkness and carefully pried the ceiling tile up, letting a little light filter through. He had to silently drop down in front of Danzo’s desk before the lights switched back on in order to convince the Commander of Root that he was back from the dead.

Danzo wouldn’t be taken in for very long, but this was their element of surprise.

“Ten seconds.”

Ino bit her lip as she watched Sai. The faint light sharpened the angles of his face, turning the blank mask into a grim expression.

“Five seconds.” Sai closed his eyes for a moment and Ino watched him, remembering how she traced the lines of his face.

“Three,” Sakura said quietly. Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were waiting with baited breath. Sai’s fingers clenched on the edge of the ceiling tile as he met Ino’s stare. “Two,” Sakura continued.

“I love you,” Sai whispered and pulling the ceiling tile up, jumping down into the sudden darkness.

“One,” Sakura finished softly.

* * *

The lights flickered back exactly on time and Danzo frowned, his mouth opening to call for a guard. He froze when he caught sight of Sai and Sai smiled inwardly. Danzo looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“ _You_ ,” Danzo whispered. The Root guards on either side were frozen – they were trained to deal with threats, not their dead colleagues coming back to life. “I don’t – _how_?”

“You killed me,” Sai kept his voice emotionless, blank, like a good Root agent. He could feel the gun pressed at his side but he couldn’t use it. The minute he brought it out he moved back to being a threat and they couldn’t afford that. They needed a clear shot.

_Cut of the head of the snake_ , Sakura had said, the voice of experience, _and the body will die._

“Why did you kill me, Commander?” Sai took a step forward, mindful of the guards. He tilted his head to one side and smiled – the close-lipped eerie smile that Ino said made him look like a zombie. “I lived to serve and obey.”

Danzo pushed away from the desk, pulling himself out of the chair. That was what they wanted, but Danzo was still too far from Ino’s position for her to have a clear shot. Sai took another step forward, and spread his hands. “Why did you kill me?” Sai asked softly.

“Kill him,” Danzo turned to his Root guards, who looked at each other in confusion. The story about ghosts might not have influenced Danzo but his guards were more susceptible.

One brave soul ventured out, “He’s already dead.”

Danzo gave an inarticulate scream of rage and took another step back, pulling the gun from the Root agent and pointing it at Sai. Sai kept the fear off his face – this wasn’t supposed to happen.

Two shots rang out, one after the other.

Sai crumpled as Danzo hit the ground, dead.

* * *

“Did you really mean it?” Perhaps it wasn’t the first thing Ino should’ve said, because Sai blinked at her in clear confusion as he gradually regained consciousness.

“What?” he said hoarsely, and looked down to the bandages wrapping his chest and then to the rows of beds, most of them filled. “Where am I?”

“Infirmary,” Ino replied, flushing. There were obviously more important things then Sai’s confession, but she spent so long agonizing over his words that she panicked when he’d woken up. “Danzo’s dead,” she continued, “Everyone’s back and Root has been officially disbanded.”

“Oh,” Sai said, and subsided into silence. Ino fidgeted in her seat.

“Did you mean it?” Ino asked again, more quietly.

“Did I mean what?” Sai frowned at her. Ino’s mouth went dry.

“You said you loved me,” Ino pointed out, fighting the urge to swallow. She was a twenty-five year old sniper with perfect aim and a gorgeous smile, she shouldn’t be this nervous.

“Yes, I did,” Sai kept frowning, “The books said that a romantic confession was required before one went to do something dangerous.”

Ino fought the urge to facepalm because _Sai’s goddamn books._ She was going to find every last one and burn them all.

“Are you going to hit me?” Sai asked, blinking up at her, “The books said that’s reasonable when one goes looking for redemption.”

“Screw the books,” Ino replied, and bent down to kiss him.

Ino may have horrible taste in guys but right now, she doesn’t care.


End file.
